Ins & outs

RETURN OF THE MAC MINI

Want a powerful yet semiaffordable studio Mac? Apple have finally updated the Mac Mini, their unassuming but highly practical desktop machine. Unfortunately, the extra power comes at an increased price, but we can still see music producers going for it.

BABY I’M A (FILM) STAR

BohemianRhapsody, the Freddie Mercury biopic, is the current hot topic, but we’re more interested in news that director Ava DuVernay is working on a Prince doc for Netflix. It’s being made with his estate’s cooperation, so we’re hoping for some revelatory unseen material.

DENISE IDEA

Ever had a plugin idea and wished someone would make it? James Boyle (AKA JNB) was lucky enough to have this happen, as the winner of developer Denise’s competition that involved users designing their dream effect. You can buy the plugin, called Noize, for €19.

PITCHY PROLOGUES

We thought analogue synth tuning problems were a bygone, but Korg have confirmed that some Prologues suffer variable pitching if you play a note repeatedly. A fix is coming, but, being the synth world, the ‘broken’ ones will probably skyrocket in value…

GIRL (PHANTOM) POWER

We’re all for greater representation of women in music tech, but creating an audio interface “designed for females” was never going to be a good idea. The fact that MIDIPlus’s Mirror has the look of a cosmetics case only makes things worse.

HORROR SHOW

Acclaimed director/musician, John Carpenter, was less than impressed when asked to try the

Halloween theme on the Nintendo Labo cardboard keyboard. “Frankly, this thing sucks,” he quipped. Watch the full video nasty here: bit.ly/2JfDr6V